Palm’s new album Nicks And Grazes is packed with wonky guitar riffs and off-beat drum patterns throughout its 13 songs, which had my ears glued to the speakers from start to finish.
The band’s goal for this record: “We wanted to reconcile two potentially opposing aesthetics – to capture the spontaneous, free energy of our live shows while integrating elements from the traditionally gridded palette of electronic music.”
Mission accomplished.
Nicks And Grazes is the Philadelphia band’s debut release with Saddle Creek Records. You can listen to the first two tacks “Touch and Go” and “Feathers” below for a sample.
Nicks And Grazes is out now, go get your ears on it. You will not be sorry.
There’s a pretty cool explanation of how O+S came to be over at the Saddle Creek website. The short version: Orenda Fink and Scalpelist (Cedric LeMoyne of Remy Zero) used an old friendship and lots of new and exotic sounds to put together an album rich in texture and atmosphere. Even on the first spin these tracks seem to possess a complex, almost academic structure. Just the opening 30 seconds of “We Do What We Want To” can clue the listener in to the agenda of O+S, with their swirls of sound and ethereal vocals; that is, to put a little artistry into their art.
Sometimes a little sincerity really works. Eric Bachmann avoids irony and anything cute on his recently released album To the Races, and it makes me believe he means every word he sings. Excessively sentimental? Who cares? Think Springsteen’s Nebraska or The Sunset Tree by the Mountain Goats and you’re in the right neighborhood. If you don’t buy the record — and you should, if solid and unapologetically sincere songwriting is your thing — at least shell out a buck for the opening track, “Man O’ War,” which is sadly unavailable for free and legal download.